Enabling client polling

If an HTTP proxy exists between a parent relay and a client or child relay, or between the server and a child node, apply this workaround to bypass a limitation, that is caused by the proxy and that affects downstream communications.

An HTTP proxy does not forward the UDP protocol, which is the protocol used for sending notifications to clients in an BigFix environment. In such a configuration, the client on the child node must be able to ping and to query the relay on the parent node for new instructions.

To allow this behavior, complete the following configuration steps from the console on the client on the child node:
  1. Open the console and go to the Computer section under the All Content domain.
  2. Select the computer where the client is installed.
  3. Right-click the computer and select Edit Settings.
  4. Select Add to create a custom setting.
  5. Enter the Setting Name and Setting Value as specified in the following table:
    Table 1. Prerequisites to configure a proxy communication on a client
    Setting Description 
    _BESClient_Comm_CommandPollEnable = 1
    		 Enables the client to poll its parent relay for new actions. 
    _BESClient_Comm_
CommandPollIntervalSeconds = nnn
    		 Determines how often the client checks with its parent relay to gather or refresh content if _BESClient_Comm_CommandPollEnable is enabled. To prevent performance degradation, avoid specifying settings that are less than 900 seconds. Value range is 0-4294967295. 
    __RelaySelect_Automatic = 0
    		 Specifies that the client is not configured for automatic parent relay selection. Clients that are configured for automatic parent relay selection cannot communicate through a proxy with their parent relay because they must be able to ping the relay.
  6. Click OK to activate the settings.
Important: If you skip this step, the relays cannot communicate with child nodes through the proxy.